MSG president James Dolan not present but still a topic at NBA Board of Governors meeting
James Dolan, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Madison Square Garden Sports watches an NBA game between the Knicks and the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 18. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
LAS VEGAS — Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan was not present at the Board of Governors meeting Tuesday afternoon, but he was still a subject when NBA commissioner Adam Silver held his latest news conference hours later.
Dolan sent a letter to the Board of Governors recently, which ESPN obtained a copy of, outlining some of his grievances with the new television deal that the NBA is finalizing negotiations on.
Dolan resigned his position on the league’s advisory/finance and media committees in November, writing a memo to Silver and the 29 other owners in which he said, “Given all that has occurred lately, I have come to the conclusion that the NBA neither needs nor wants my opinion.”
But he provided that opinion in this most recent missive.
While Silver spoke on the league’s new television deal — although only in broad terms with issues still to be settled, he did not want to respond in the media to Dolan’s letter.
“My response is try to keep these issues in the family,” Silver said. “And I would say, yes, Jim Dolan did send a letter out to his partner teams and to the league office. That was discussed certainly at our meetings. But I don't think it's appropriate to get into the specifics of what was discussed at our meeting.”
Another topic that Silver finds himself enmeshed in is the lawsuit that the Knicks filed against the Toronto Raptors, which was dismissed by a federal court, referring it back to the NBA to resolve, which is the path outlined in the league’s constitution.
The contention by the Knicks was that the commissioner could not fairly adjudicate the matter because of his close relationship with Raptors owner, and chairman of the Board of Governors, Larry Tannenbaum.
Asked about the court’s decision and also his reaction to the Knicks' claim that he could not fairly settle it, Silver also remained vague.
“The second part of your question I won’t respond to,” Silver said. “The first part that we did receive notice of the court’s decision and are in the process of working through those issues at the league office right now.”
Representing the Knicks at the Board of Governors meeting was Jamaal Lesane, who was named Madison Square Garden Chief Operating Officer last week.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
